SSB Heat (Port Royal Smash)
SSB Heat, also known as Friday Night Heat or simply Heat, is a Super Smash Bros. weekly online show that was taped on Friday evenings at 7:30pm EST and uploaded the following day on YouTube. The show was formerly taped on Sunday nights and was known as Sunday Night Heat but moved to Friday on 5 February 2016. The show debuted on 23 August, 2015 and has since been considered as the flagship program of Port Royal Smash. Heat was taped in a total of 5 different venues with 44 episodes available on YouTube. Filming for the show would usually run for 3 hours however the edited versions which appear online are condensed to approx. 45 minutes each. Heat ran from 2015 until the final episode on 9 October 2016 which then Port Royal Smash went on hiatus. History The origins of Heat can be traced back to 2008. Port Royal Network began to host weekly gaming events featuring Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Nintendo Wii. Sunday afternoons. These events were known as Sunday Heat. Heat and alongside Tuesday afternoon's Velocity, ''they laid the foundations for Port Royal Smash. These events ran through 2009 before being disbanded. In 2015, a relaunched Port Royal Network expressed interest in developing a competitive video game scene. The Network decided to launch a Super Smash Bros competition which would feature the newest entry in the series - Super Smash Bros for Wii U. The Network organised a special event which was named ''SSB Night of Champions' '''in June 2015. Following the success and rising interest in Smash Bros, the Network immediately began plans for a second event the following month titled ''Elimination Chamber ''which continued the rise. With both events proving a major success and continued growing interest, Port Royal Network announced plans to develop a weekly show which was given the name ''SSB Heat. Prior to the official launch, Port Royal Smash held four events in the lead up to the premiere episode. Portions of these shows can be found on YouTube which utilises the in-game replay and upload features. The debut episode of SSB Sunday Night Heat ''was held on 23 August 2015. ''Heat episodes features commentary which is provided by players however play-by-play is regularly provided by Nexus with Zion also having a large contribution. Beginning with the 5 February 2016 episode, Heat began filming on Friday nights. Heat maintained its status as premier event for Smash Bros competition in the Far North and was always seen as the flagship program for Port Royal Smash along with Superstars. At the start of 2016, the Network broadcast Heat live on YouTube however this concept was disbanded in favour of a recorded show. Despite the earlier Heat events being live shows notable matches still took place such as the 3 January 2016 Heat where Ragnarok defeated Zion in a SSB Championship Match. In the go-home shows for Dream Land 2016, Fatal 4-Way 2016 and Civil War 2016, Heat ''dropped Super Smash Bros. for Wii U in favour of Super Smash Bros. (N64), Melee and Brawl in that order and was promoted as ''Retro Heat. Heat remained the flagship show throughout the original run on Port Royal Smash however the end of 2016 saw a slow decline in interest and Heat was scaled back to a fortnightly show with multiple episodes taped back-to-back. In September 2016, Port Royal Network cancelled Heat and placed Port Royal Smash on hiatus. The final episode of Heat was recorded on 3 October and broadcast on 9 October 2016. Production Initially'' Heat'' was recorded at the Port Royal Network Outdoor Studio using Sony equipment. The set featured a large screen with an LED lighting net on the left and right. The player booth was positioned in front of the screen with the audiences placed in between. The player booth featured seats for the players, controllers for players to select, food and beverages, along with the audio and visual equipment including the protector and Nintendo Wii U system. Commentary was provided at a separate area on the side of the canopy. Despite being filmed outdoors in an area which experiences high levels of rain, this caused no disruption to any episode of Heat. ''However technical issues affected the 25 September 2016 episode. ''Heat would run for approximately 3 hours however the edited online videos are condensed to around 45 minutes. Commentary is provided players who are in attendance with Nexus and Zion regular play-by-play commentators. Starting in April 2016, production moved to a new indoor studio which was also the main base for Port Royal Network. The new set featured a smaller screen, LED lights on the ceiling and coloured spotlights around the studio which changed colours for entrances and the show being filmed. The player booth initially was in front of the screen similar to the Outdoor Studio however was moved to the left of the set and joined with the commentary table at the end of June 2016. Player entrances were again from behind the screen on the left but changed to where players would enter the booth from their seats in the audience. Heat used two primary colours which are reflected in the show's logo and graphics. From the debut episode until 24 June 2016, Heat was branded with blue and the show theme was "Sky's The Limit" by CFO$. Starting with the 1 July 2016 episode, Heat switched to red and debuted a new logo and graphics pack and now used "...To Be Loved" by Papa Roach. For the Retro Heat episodes, special theme music and video intros were used reflecting the game being featured in the episode. Heat has always been produced in 16:9 widescreen and starting with the 21 June 2016 edition was uploaded in HD. Heat features minimal on screen graphics compared to other Super Smash Bros. presentations by other organisations. A small white Smash Ball logo appears in the bottom right, the hashtag (#ssbheat) in the top left with the Port Royal Network logo in the top right. During championship matches, a quick animated graphic was displayed prior to the match showing which title is to be contested. Theme music Broadcast Heat is exclusively broadcast on YouTube with 44 full episodes available for streaming. On-air personalities Main article: List of Port Royal Smash personalities The show features various on-air personalities including the players themselves (both males and females), commentators, and on-screen authority figures. Heat also has had various recurring on-air segments hosted by members of the roster.